NEW DELHI:
Six persons, including two Israeli nationals, have been arrested by the Central Delhi police for allegedly being in possession of charas. The accused were working for an Italian national and were procuring and supplying the contraband from Manali in Himachal Pradesh. The police have recovered more than 50 kg of charas from their possession.

Acting on a tip-off, the Special Staff of the Central Delhi police had laid a trap on Thomson Road near Kamla Market in Central Delhi on Monday. When the accused appeared on the scene around 6-30 p.m., the waiting police team arrested them. Apart from 52.5 kg of charas, the accused were also found to be in possession of Rs. 3 lakhs (Rs. 1 lakh in Indian currency and another Rs. 2 lakhs in foreign currency) and three mobile phones.

The arrested Israeli nationals have been identified as Yaniv Kahalani (33) and Eran Eliev (28). The other four accused have been identified as Pratap Singh, Achchar Singh, Tek Singh and Dhola Singh -- all of them from Kullu in Himachal Pradesh.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly told the police that they were working for an Italian national whose identity was yet to established. The police said Yaniv had visited India several times. A frequent visitor to Manali and Goa, he had met Pratap in 2002. Pratap, who ran a café in Manali, also used to supply charas to foreigners in small quantities for their personal use.

In October, the Italian national came in contact with Yaniv in Paharganj and offered him a handsome deal if he could arrange for couriers who could carry the contraband from Manali to Delhi. Yaniv roped in Pratap.